Flitcroft Admires Tomorrow’s Opposition

David Flitcroft has a high admiration for Crewe Alexandra and their ability to develop players for First Team football, and wants to copy that at Gigg Lane.

The Shakers take on Crewe Alexandra tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 22ndAugust, 3pm kick-off) in their fourth game back in Sky Bet League One.

Looking ahead to the match, Bury Manager David Flitcroft spoke of his high admiration for Crewe and more importantly their Director of Football, Dario Gradi.

Under the guidance of Gradi, the Cheshire side have grown a worldwide reputation for developing players in their academy, with a high number of those going on to playing for the first team.

Since taking over the club two years ago Chairman Stewart Day has put an emphasis into the Club developing their own players for the first team to sell on for a profit, much like Crewe.

David Flitcroft has put that idea into place over the summer by signing six Youth Team players to professional contracts, and admits that they would love to get the club to where Crewe are in terms of their academy.

Speaking ahead of the match, David Flitcroft said: “As a Football Club they are an iconic model in the English game, especially when you look at the players they have produced and Dario Gradi’s consistent success in the Club’s academy.

“Dario is someone I have got an incredible admiration for, the way he has gone about his business and the way he has built the Football Club to produce talent.

“What he has built there is a fantastic football model for teams like ours to copy, but they are so far in front with the facilities, the coaching structure and the processes they have got in place.

“It is a club where if you have a choice between going to a Premier League side like Liverpool and Everton or Crewe, at times you are going to choose Crewe, because you know you’ll be around the First Team at a younger age.

“The Crewe model is a fantastic model and we have studied it to take away some of its unique points to implement here.”

Crewe Alexandra however have sometimes struggled to turn that model into success in the League with the Club only just avoiding relegation during the past couple of campaigns.

However, Flitcroft wants to mix success in the league with creating future stars, and doesn’t just want to be a side that go between Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two.

He believes this isn’t just something he wants to see, but something everyone at the club is aiming for, because as soon as the club has settled in Sky Bet League One he believes the club can push on from there.

He explained: “There’s a good feeling around the club, everyone is on the same page and everyone wants the same thing.

“The club has been in League One and the Championship before, but as a yo-yo Club, I want to be a manager that can help sustain football at this level, to give you a platform to go to another level.

“We have grown really quickly in the period the Chairman’s been in and the time we’ve been in as a new management team, but now it’s about sustainability. It’s about building from a strong platform.”